Wattle Park, Melbourne

MelbourneParks
park= Wattle Park


image size= 275
caption= Wattle Park's Lone Pine
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location= Melbourne, Australia
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opened= March 31, 1917
operator= Parks Victoria
visitors=
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landscape=
vegetation=
water=
paths= Pedestrian and bicycle access throughout
facilities= Toilets, barbecues, playground
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Wattle Park is a park in Melbourne, Australia, located in the suburb of Burwood. It is known for its plantation of 12,000 wattle trees. It is currently maintained by Parks Victoria.

Location

Wattle Park is located within the City of Whitehorse. Approximately one third of the park is recorded as a heritage place by Heritage Victoria and the National Trust of Australia has also classified the park. The ‘Lone Pine’ is listed on the National Trust's Significant Tree Register.

The park contains areas of indigenous remnant bush land which has been identified as regionally significant. The Urban Fauna Survey Unit (Department of Conservation Forests and Lands, 1989) nominated the site as one of regional significance on the basis of its high diversity of common native fauna in a suburban environment.

The park also provides a wide range of recreational opportunities, combining aspects of:
*Public open space for passive recreation
*Sporting facilities accessed on a fee paying basis
*Commercial activities

Wattle Park is also recognised as a place of ‘social value’. It provides a traditional and spiritual connection between the past and present. It is accessible to the public and the repeated use of the park has built up significant associations and values in the community. It is unlike any other park in the greater metropolitan region of Melbourne.

History

The park was first created when the Hawthorn Tramway Trust (HTT) purchased 137 acres (554,000 m²) of land from Mrs Eliza Welch, under the condition it was to be used as a public park. The park opened on 31 March, 1917 when Sir Arthur Stanley planted a Golden Wattle and named the park.

Due to the HTT's financial troubles, further development of the park was put off for some time. After the HTT had been amalgamated into the Melbourne and Metropolitan Tramways Board, it was put off due to work on electrifying Melbourne's cable tramways. Planning and development of the park started in the 1920s and 30s, with a plantation of 12,000 wattle trees planted in between 1926 and 1928. A 9-hole golf course opened at Wattle Park in October 1937, with other facilities following later.

With the rise of popularity of motor cars in the 1960s and 70s, the MMTB (which was absorbed by the new Metropolitan Transit Authority in 1983, was focusing its attention elsewhere. Subsequently, local residents began to complain to the state government about the poor state of Wattle Park. In 1991, ownership of Wattle Park was passed from the Public Transport Corporation to the Melbourne and Metropolitan Board of Works, which undertook a program to rehabilitate the park's landscape.

Connection with trams

As Wattle Park, for most of its history, had been maintained by Melbourne's tram operators, it retains a connection with Melbourne's tramways. The Melbourne Tramways Band (sponsored by Yarra Trams) plays at Wattle Park once a month during spring and autumn. The bodies of two W2 class trams are used as shelters at Wattle Park, and it is the terminus of tram route 70.

External links

* [http://www.parkweb.vic.gov.au/1park_display.cfm?park=207 Parks Victoria: Wattle Park]
* [http://www.tmsv.org.au/papers/wattlepk.htm TMSV: Wattle Park]